Archives for February 2018

I had planned to write this post anyway, but with getting back from Milwaukee, dealing with an influx of work and non-work projects and the pure tragedy that has overtaken the news for the past few days, it seems even more appropriate to take a step back and consider life; to focus on and be grateful for what I have and what I have the power to change.

Taking a nod from one of my new favorite blogs, The Calm Collective, here is a short list of good things.

BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU

Brandi Carlile is one of my favorite artists. At my first internship, I found her first album just lying around. One listen and it changed my life. It’s that kind of good. If you haven’t listened to The Story from front to back over a weekend, you are missing out. Her new album, By the Way I Forgive You, drops today. I’m writing you from the tail end of my first listen and as usual, it’s a thing to behold. Listen now on Spotify.

DRAWING

I enjoy drawing. I truly do. I’ve owned sketchbooks since I was a young kid and learned how to draw the Tasmanian Devil in an after-school class. And duck people. I don’t know where the inspiration for that came from. I never considered myself much an artist in that way until recently, when I took some Skillshare classes and focused cultivating my own style of calligraphy. Now, I have several sketchbooks. I’ve wandered into watercolor and as I learn more graphic design (for work), I see how the beginning stages translates best on the page. With the advent of Procreate and my old iPad mini, I can draw (read: relax) while on the couch, or before bed. You may think that with all these years of sketching, and all these classes I’m in the area of “good” at drawing – that is a false assumption. But I enjoy it, and it’s a hell of a distraction when you need one.

SLEEPING IN

Maybe this is a weird one considering I’ve been trying to get back into an early riser routine. But you know what? Sometimes it’s good to sleep in. With traveling and work demands, it’s super important that I make time to exercise and get some time outside – but it’s equally important to make sure you rest. Thanks to my FitBit, I realized I was averaging only about six hours of sleep a night. That lead me to taking naps after I got off work, or being exhausted by 8 o’clock and not being able to spend quality time with my boyfriend; or enjoy a warm bath; or read a good book. So my regimen is not so regimented as I originally imagined. Giving myself a little more time in a warm bed with my person (and my dog), has been an unexpected but solid call.

COOKING THROUGH A COOKBOOK

It was one of my New Year’s resolutions — or, life goals, to learn to cook. I had a lot of the basics down, but I’m not so great at looking at my pantry and making something with what I have. I have a ton of tools, but none of the knowledge. Over the years, I’ve collected several cookbooks, and over the holidays, received a couple more – so I’ve started cooking through them. Between the two of us, Josh and I are making serious progress on Alton Brown’s EveryDay Cook; and I’m about to start Karen Mordecai’s Sunday Suppers or Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food. Maybe both.

For the time being, I’m sticking to making it like the recipe and then, as I get more comfortable, adding or taking away the portions. If you’re an avid cook/chef, this may drive you crazy, but it’s got to be this way.

A GOOD HAIR CONDITION.

I’ve always had long hair, and even when it’s been shorter, it’s thick, so it’s felt like long hair. It frizzes, it poufs, I need a flat-iron to make it presentable and I’m also a big fan of the pony tail because — done! My hair stylist Audrey, at Local Honey in East Nashville, has used Oribe products on my hair when I’m in the shop, and on my last visit, I decided to transition to using it full-time.

Last weekend, we travelled up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin – a holiday gift trip for my boyfriend to see the Milwaukee Admirals (the Nashville Predators’ AHL team) in a two-night stand. It’s not your typical vacation locale, but Josh and I were both really excited to visit Milwaukee and the closer the trip got, the more we started to crave authentic cheese curds, beer and pretzels.

One of the hardest parts of the winter season is that it coincides with my own professional slow season. It used to be that these slow seasons would freak me out — I’d worry about my job security, if I was being proactive enough, that I was missing, missing, missing out. It’s only been in the past few years that I’ve learned to relax, appreciate the time and learned how to use it for my own professional benefit.

Here are some ideas I’ve tried to put in use to get the most out of the slow months:

1. Organize.
Yep, probably the least exciting thing you can do. But, as it relates to your workspace, tossing things out — both physical and digital — can be as cathartic as it is just a good way to keep things in order. This is the time I go through all my files and make sure I’m only backing up things I need; I go through all of my inboxes and delete or file – especially those that have any large attachments. I’m constantly amazed at how my workspace collects things – coffee cups, wine glasses, slips of paper, books, etc. It’s also a good time to try out any of the inbox helper/work productivity apps you might be collecting: like UnRoll.me; SaneBox; Pancake; write out authentic canned emails; ToDoist, and more.

2. Drink tea.
I feel like the benefits of drinking tea over coffee are well-worn, which doesn’t mean I’ll be dropping one or the other any time soon – but if it’s cold/rainy outside, I want to be drinking something warm and an uncaffeinated tea is miles away from a decaf coffee. (Want to hear a joke? Decaf) Be careful what type of tea you drink because while a cup of Earl Grey in the morning is delightful, it’s a seriously caffeinated black tea that will keep you up all night if you sip on it all day; even green tea has a caffeine so I relax in the afternoon with a cuppa Chamomile.

3. Browse deliberately.
I browse the internet often when I’m procrastinating, but I’ve found more focused browsing to be incredibly helpful. As it relates to my work, there are certain things I always want to be up-to-date on: industry trends, industry leaders, reference images (from Behance, Dribbble, Instagram) for pitches and inspiration; I’m often in need of font references (Typewolf, Fonts.lol, among others) from relevant creators like Jessica Hische and Lauren Hom. I say “browse” because I feel like it should still be a fun, semi-mindless thing you’re doing. If it’s too much work, you’re not going to consider it when you have downtime.

4. Learn something.
I’m a huge proponent of diversity – probably in all ways one can frame it. Here, I’m referring to having a diverse skill set – not mastering a different form exactly, but acquiring at least a working knowledge of a variety of skill sets. Certain skills (organization, time management, etc) are needed in every career field, and it’s interesting to see how those skill sets change with different practices. I’m a fan of Skillshare – currently loving classes by Kate Arends (of Wit & Delight); Marte Marie Forsberg (Photographer and author of The Cottage Kitchen) and hope to jump into something from the MasterClass series; additionally Lynda.com is a great resource, as is YouTube – which sounds like old news, but if you find the right content creator, you can find some really great tutorials – some of which I’ll be posting in the next few weeks. Continued learning is a guaranteed way to improve your work.

Enjoy the slow season if you’re fortunate enough to have one, but don’t let it make you passive. What are some tools you use to kickstart your slow days?

This weekend, we’re headed to Milwaukee! We’re in it for the cheese curds, beer and hockey – any recommendations?

Instagram Inspiration (clockwise from left): I’m not a big fan of flowers, but these blush-colored palette is gorgeous (@PrettyFlowersMaine); this monochromatic bookshelf is everything (@beautybyleightaylor)*; I’m still loving the long blazer/jacket look (@entre_dois); Love, love love these floral watercolors (@wildfieldpaperco); This kitchen dock is awesome, and fingers crossed their cooking via instagram interface becomes a reality! (@copperheartcreative)*; I help kickstart this project last year and just made my first cocktail with these fresh ingredient cocktail mixes (@withcococktails)*

It’s always been helpful to me to learn about other creatives’ process; how they overcome obstacles; what their struggles are; how they manage time; how they manage the work/life balance; how they tackle challenges – all of it.